Heritage
A house, in its own words
Jono Bornstein launched Folkwinds in the spring of 2022 after years of working with independent designers and artisans across the United States. His goal was to create a house that would celebrate the diversity of North American raw materials, from the pine forests of the Pacific Northwest to the amber‑rich soils of the Southwest. The brand’s first public statements, posted on its official website and echoed on fragrance community sites such as Fragrantica, emphasized a commitment to natural ingredients and collaborative artwork. In its debut year, Folkwinds introduced three fragrances—Santi Ana, American Pharoah, and Cloud Illusions—each anchored by a distinct regional note and packaged in hand‑blown glass bottles designed by local artists. 2023 saw the release of Jasper No Kodō, a scent that blended cedarwood with subtle incense, reinforcing the house’s dedication to exploring native woods. The following year, Folkwinds expanded its seasonal line with Sleepy Hollow and Midwinter Dream, both of which drew on winter‑time botanicals and were praised in niche fragrance forums for their balanced composition. 2025 marked a prolific period, delivering Devil's Garden, The Wonderland II, Jasper no Kodo II and American Amber, all of which highlighted the brand’s evolving palette while staying true to its natural‑first ethos. Throughout its growth, Folkwinds has maintained a small‑batch production model, allowing the team to oversee each step from ingredient sourcing to final bottling. The house continues to partner with North American farms and cooperatives, ensuring that the raw materials remain traceable and sustainably harvested. As of 2026, Folkwinds remains a privately held label, operating out of a studio space in Portland, Oregon, where the founder still curates new scent concepts alongside a close‑knit team of perfumers and visual artists. Folkwinds approaches perfumery as a dialogue between place and perception. The brand believes that a fragrance should act as a portable landscape, capturing the texture of a forest floor or the crispness of a mountain breeze. To achieve this, the house prioritizes ingredients that are either native to North America or cultivated by regional growers who practice low‑impact farming. The creative process begins with field visits, where Jono and his collaborators document scent impressions, then translate those impressions into olfactory formulas in the studio. Folkwinds rejects the notion of a single signature style; instead, each collection reflects a specific environment or narrative, whether it is the autumnal harvest of a New England orchard or the quiet stillness of a desert night. The brand also values transparency, publishing ingredient lists that note the natural origin of each component and the percentage of synthetics used. Community engagement forms another pillar of the philosophy: Folkwinds regularly hosts scent‑workshops and pop‑up exhibitions that invite consumers to experience the raw materials firsthand. By intertwining artistic expression with ecological awareness, the house aims to foster a deeper appreciation for the natural world through scent.